"Voyage" by DAVID CROSBY (November 2006 UK Rhino/Atlantic 3 x HDCD Book Set Career Retrospective - Graham Nash and John Nowland Remasters) - Featuring The Byrds, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, Joni Mitchell, Graham Nash, Neil Young, Stephen Stills, Members of The Grateful Dead, Santana and Jefferson Airplane - A Review by Mark Barry...

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"...Home Through The Haze..."

I thought so when I bought it (and even after the Stephen Stills box arrived in 2013) - the 2006 David Crosby "Voyage" Box Set for my money is the best of the three retrospectives coming out of the CROSBY, STILLS and NASH camp of three (and that's saying a lot given the talent involved). There's a whole heap of goodness on here so let's down and hazy right away...

Released November 2006 in the USA - "Voyage" by DAVID CROSBY on Rhino Atlantic R2 77628 (Barcode 081227762827) [UK is Rhino/Atlantic 8122-77628-2] is a 3 x HDCD Remasters Box Set and breaks down as follows:

Disc 1 (76:12 minutes):

1. Eight Mile High - THE BYRDS (on the album "5th Dimension" released August 1966 in the USA on Columbia 9349 (Stereo))

2. Renaissance Fair - THE BYRDS

3. Everybody's Been Burned - THE BYRDS (tracks 2 and 3 on the album "Younger Than Yesterday" - released March 1967 in the USA on Columbia CS 9442 (Stereo))

4. Wooden Ships - CROSBY, STILLS & NASH

5. Guinnevere - CROSBY, STILLS & NASH

6. Long Time Gone - CROSBY, STILLS & NASH (tracks 4 to 6 are from the album "Crosby, Stills & Nash" released June 1969 in the USA on Atlantic SD 8229 and in the UK on Atlantic 588 189)

7. Déjà Vu - CROSBY, STILLS, NASH & YOUNG

8. Almost Cut My Hair - CROSBY, STILLS, NASH & YOUNG (tracks 7 and 8 are from the album "Déjà Vu" released March 1970 in the USA on Atlantic SD 7200 and in the UK on Atlantic 2401 001)

9. Tampalas High (At About 3) - DAVID CROSBY

10. Laughing - DAVID CROSBY

11. Music Is Love - DAVID CROSBY

12. Song With No Words (Trees With No Leaves) - DAVID CROSBY

13. What Are Their Names - DAVID CROSBY

14. I'd Swear There Was Somebody Here - DAVID CROSBY (tracks 9 to 14 are from his first solo LP "If I Could Only Remember My Name" released February 1971 in the USA on Atlantic SD 7203 and in the UK on Atlantic 2401 005)

15. Where Will I Be - CROSBY, NASH

16. Page 43 - CROSBY, NASH (tracks 15 and 16 from the album "Graham Nash / David Crosby" released April 1972 in the USA on Atlantic SD 7220 and May 1972 in the UK on Atlantic K 50011)

17. Critical Mass - CROSBY, NASH

18. Carry Me - CROSBY, NASH

19. Bittersweet - CROSBY, NASH

20. Naked In The Rain - CROSBY, NASH (tracks 17 to 20 are from the album "Wind On The Water" released October 1975 in the USA on ABC Records ABCD-902 and January 1976 in the UK on Polydor 2310 428)

21. Dancer - CROSBY, NASH (on the album "Whistling Down The Wire" released July 1976 in the USA on ABC Records ABCD-956 and in the UK on Polydor 2310 468)

Disc 2 (74:20 minutes):

1. Shadow Captain - CROSBY, STILLS & NASH

2. In My Dreams - CROSBY, STILLS & NASH (tracks 1 and 2 are from the album "CSN" released June 1977 in the USA on Atlantic SD 19104 and in the UK on Atlantic K 50369)

3. Delta - CROSBY, STILLS & NASH (on the album "Daylight Again" released July 1982 in the USA on Atlantic SD 19360 and in the UK on Atlantic K 50896)

4. Compass - CROSBY, STILLS, NASH & YOUNG (on the album "American Dream" released November 1988 in the USA on Atlantic 7 81888-1 and in the UK on Atlantic WX 233)

5. Tracks In The Dust - DAVID CROSBY (on the album "Oh Yes I Can" released February 1989 in the USA on A&M Records 395232-1 and in the UK on A&M Records AMA 5232)

6. Arrows [Live] - CROSBY, STILLS & NASH (on the album "Live It Up" released June 1990 on LP in the UK and USA on Atlantic 7567 82101-1)

7. Hero - DAVID CROSBY

8. Yvette In English - DAVID CROSBY (tracks 7 and 8 are on the album "Thousand Roads" released on CD June 1993 in both the USA and UK on Atlantic 7567 82484-2)

9. Rusty And Blue - CPR

10. Somehow She Knew - CPR [David Crosby, Jeff Pevar & James Raymond] (tracks 9 and 10 are from the album "CPR" released 1998 on Samson Music CD0145 on CD)

11. Breathless - CPR

12. Map To Buried Treasure - CPR (tracks 11 and 12 are from the album "Just Like Gravity" released 2001 in the USA on Gold Circle GC 20002-2)

13. At The Edge - CPR (on the 2CD album "Live At The Wiltern" released 1998 in the USA on Samson Records GC 0148)

14. Through Here Quite Often - CROSBY & NASH

15. My Country `Tis Of Thee - DAVID CROSBY (tracks 14 and 15 are on the 2CD set "Crosby Nash" released 2004 on Sanctuary 06076-84683-2 in the USA and Sanctuary SANDD293 in the UK and Europe)

Disc 3 PREVIOUSLY UNRELASED (76:28 minutes):

1. Long Time Gone [Demo Version] - CROSBY & STILLS

2. Guinnevere [Alternate Mix/Take] - DAVID CROSBY

3. Almost Cut My Hair [Demo Version] - DAVID CROSBY

4. Games [Demo Version] - DAVID CROSBY

5. Déjà Vu [Demo Version] - CROSBY & NASH

6. Triad [Demo Version] - DAVID CROSBY

7. Cowboy Movie [Studio Version] - DAVID CROSBY (features Neil Young and JERRY GARCIA, PHIL LESH and MICKEY HART of THE GRATEFUL DEAD)

8. Kids And Dogs - DAVID CROSBY ["If I Could Only Remember My Name" outtake recorded September 1970)

9. Have You Seen The Stars Tonite? - PAUL KANTNER and JEFFERSON STARSHIP

10. The Lea Shore - CROSBY & NASH (Live at Carnegie Hall, New York, 30 September 1971)

11. Traction In The Rain (Live at Carnegie Hall, New York, 30 September 1971) - CROSBY & NASH

12. King Of The Mountain [Demo Version] - DAVID CROSBY

13. Homeward Through The Haze [Alternate Take/Mix] - CROSBY, STILLS, NASH & YOUNG

14. Samurai (1980 Previously Unreleased Studio Version] - DAVID CROSBY

15. Climber (1999 Previously Unreleased Studio Version) - CROSBY, STILLS, NASH & YOUNG

16. Dream For Him (Live at the Nationwide Arena, Columbia, Ohio, December 2005) - CROSBY, STILLS, NASH & YOUNG

The first thing that strikes you (apart from the fab HDCD remasters) is the quality of the booklet that accompanies the stippled effect die-cut hardback book shell - it's beautifully and carefully laid out and a properly amazing read. Produced by Graham Nash and Joel Bernstein and spanning 1966 to 2006 - you get page after page of Henry Diltz colour photos, deeply personal reminiscences on the songs by Crosby and his musical buddies Neil Young, Stephen Stills, Graham Nash and Joni Mitchell (to name but a few contributors) and most impressive of all - an entire third disc of previously unreleased songs - that in my book may be the best ever put out anywhere - ever! The HDCD remasters handled by Graham Nash and JOHN NOWLAND (was involved with Neil Young's reissues) are simply amazing - right across the board.

Why is this box set so good? When you separate out David Crosby's songs from the contributions he made to the supergroups he was in (BYRDS, CSNY, Solo Crosby, Nash & Crosby etc) and line them up alongside each other - the effect is quite magical. His tunes are 'so' melodious and dare we say it - more ‘trippy’ than the heavier Stills and Young material. And all of his songs are imbibed with a sense of the naked-personal - vying with political outrage at what was happening in the USA and the World at the time. As the Byrds' "Everyone's Been Burned" slides into "Wooden Ships" and the guitar funk of "Long Time Gone" by CSN and then into the ethereal beauty of "Tampalas High (At About 3)" - it makes you wonder why the others in the group seemed to constantly grab the limelight from under his artistic feet. By the time I get to the sublime Joni Mitchell vocal harmony passage swirling with the guitars on "Laughing"- I'm gone man - I'm cooked - this guy is a frigging genius (and a career-spanning retro like this has been long overdue).

But what clinches the deal for me is Disc 3 - it's unbelievably good. How could all of this primo unreleased stuff have stayed in their various cans all this time? It opens with a ramshackle but cool take on "Long Time Gone" but then we get genuine beauty in an Alternate Take of "Guinnevere" - the remaster making it glisten like melodic gold. He lets it rip vocally on a more acoustic take of the "Déjà Vu" classic "Almost Cut My Hair". The "Triad" demo is fantastic and so well recorded. "Cowboy Movie" features Jerry Garcia of the Grateful Dead on Guitar with Neil Young trying to steal the show by rocking it out too much (Phil Lesh and Mickey Hart of the Dead are there too). It's eleven minutes of Crosby and Young magic. When I bought and reviewed the Rhino CD remaster of his stunning solo 1971 album "If I Could Only Remember My Name" I remember being disappointed at their only being one bonus track - the previously unreleased outtake "Kids And Dogs". 

That is until I played it - wow! For its seven minutes of acoustic strumming think Nick Drake trying out a new song then adding CSYN vocals (just harmonizing without words) and you're there - it's fabulous stuff (apparently it too features Jerry Garcia on guitar). Paul Kantner and Jefferson Starship turn up on the gorgeous "Have You Seen The Stars Tonite?" with devastating harmonies vocals. The two live tracks from September 1971 are lovely - especially "Traction In The Rain" - surely one of his prettiest melodies. And on it goes to a 2005 live version of the child-song "Dream For Him" with Neil Young and Stephen Stills - ending the set on a musical and conscience-provoking note.

"The blind leading the blind...I'm amazed how they stumble...home through the haze..." Crosby sings on the stunning "Homeward Through The Haze".

Often pitched at under thirty quid - don't stumble - take a punt on this wonderful and classy CD retrospective...it's worth every penny...

"Long After Dark" by TOM PETTY and THE HEARTBREAKERS (2001 Universal/MCA 'HDCD' Reissue - Joe Gastwirt Remaster) - A Review by Mark Barry...

"...I'm Finding Out..." 

Originally released in November 1982 on Vinyl and Cassette – Tom Petty's fifth studio album "Long After Dark" seemed to slip through the cracks. While it managed a top-ten placing Stateside - no one cared enough to notice in good old Blighty. You just don't see British vinyl originals of it that much - and the initial 1980's CD reissue (a non-remaster) disappeared off the shelves only a few years after it was released.

Which brings us to this fantastic sounding 2001 'HDCD' Remaster – a properly decent audio overhaul - but yet again - overlooked in his canon of consistently good releases. "Long After Dark" is a brilliant rock album with all the trademark Petty hooks and catchy choruses - tune after tune hitting you with their economy and brilliance. Deliver me indeed. Here are the details...

UK and USA released March 2001 – "Long After Dark" by TOM PETTY and THE HEARTBREAKERS on MCA 112 446-2 (Barcode 008811244620) is a straightforward CD transfer/reissue (mastered in HDCD) of the album (36:24 minutes).

1. A One-Story Town

2. You Got Lucky

3. Deliver Me

4. Change Of Heart

5. Finding Out

6. We Stand A Chance [Side 2]

7. Straight Into Darkness

8. The Same Old You

9. Between Two Worlds

10. A Wasted Life

"Long After Dark" was released November 1982 in the USA on MCA/Backstreet Records BSR-5360 and in the UK on MCA Records MCL 1818. It peaked at No. 9 on the US LP charts and No. 45 in the UK.

The booklet is ok – reproducing the lyrics of the original vinyl album’s inner sleeve. The back inlay picture is different to the 80's issue but that’s about it. However – that’s offset by the gobsmacking audio... Remastered by Joe Gastwirt at Ocean View Digital from the original analogue master tapes - the sound on this 'High Definition Compatible Digital' reissue (one in a series of Petty Remasters) is just stupendous - clear, full of power and clarity and ready to kick your stereo in its sub-woofer proverbials. Gastwirt has done a truly fantastic remaster job here.

Co-Produced by Petty with JIMMY IOVINE (who'd worked so successfully with the band on "Damn The Torpedoes" in 1979) - "A One Story Town" opens proceedings with a tale of faraway feelings and nowhere city - all wrapped up in a driving set of riffs. The huge synth punch in "You Got Lucky" is so clear that it almost feels intrusive – audio that's too damn good. But then we get one of those fabulous Petty rockers - "Deliver Me" - where he begs his girl to "...take this heart...and deliver me..." Another belter follows - the faster-paced "Finding Out" - a shockingly good headbanger that builds and builds (cracking harmony vocals too). Side One ends on the clever voice-box guitar of "We Stand A Chance". Other winners include the deceptively sweet "A Wasted Life" - a shuffler that gets its hooks into and stays there. Both "Change Of Heart" and "Straight Into Darkness" is the band firing on all sixes - brilliant Petty rockers with huge sound (I love these songs and US radio played the hell out of "Straight Into Darkness"). No time for pretty as it ends with more monster riffage - the moody 'you haven't changed' song "The Same Old You".

I've always thought "Long After Dark" to be an absolute blinder of an album and not nearly as dated as so much Eighties cack is. And it's cheap too (use the Barcode provided above to get the right issue). You go TP...

"Live At Massey Hall 1971" by NEIL YOUNG (March 2007 Reprise/Neil Young Archives (NYA) HDCD and DVD Reissue and Remaster) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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"...I'm Just Like You...

I Need Someone To Love Me...

...The Whole Day Through..." 

As a veteran of some 3700 reviews most of which are about quality CD reissues - I bow my head in shame on this one. I'll admit that "Live At Massey Hall 1971" slipped past my radar somehow. How did I not get to hear this absolute gem?

Firstly - as pointed out by many others - the audio quality on this release is just incredible.

Released March 2007 there’s two versions of "Live At Massey Hall 1971" by NEIL YOUNG - a stand-alone disc (67:38 minutes) on Reprise 9362-43328-2 (Barcode 093624332824) and this – the CD + DVD version on Reprise 9362-43327-2 (Barcode 093624332725). Both come in gatefold card sleeves.

Clear, warm, present – "Live At Massey Hall 1971" is like an ultra high-quality 90's or 00's 'unplugged' performance. Both JOHN NOWLAND and TIM MULLIGAN worked on the Restoration, Transfers and Mastering of the original Analogue tapes and they have produced what has to be a Grammy-winning result.

1. On The Way Home

2. Tell Me Why

3. Old Man

4. Journey Through The Past

5. Helpless

6. Love In Mind

7. A Man Needs A Maid/Heart Of Gold Suite

8. Cowgirl In The Sand

9. Don’t Let It Bring You Down

10. There’s A World

11. Bad Fog Of Loneliness

12. The Needle And The Damage Done

13. Ohio

14. See The Sky About To Rain

15. Down By The River

16. Dance Dance Dance

17. I Am A Child

The DVD has all 17 of the above as well as Bonus Footage:

18 and 19 are "The Needle And The Damage Done" and "Journey Through The Past" from the "Johnny Cash On Campus TV Show" (Ryman Auditorium, Nashville, Tennessee)

20 is "Old Man" from "Swingin Mit Neil Young – Dutch TV Documentary"

21 is "Archive Meetings" from "Broken Arrow Ranch"

But best of all is the music and Neil Young's performance. With just guitar and piano - the intimacy of the gig is as beautiful as a singer-songwriter concert gets. And of course - there's the date. Recorded in front of a home crowd on 19 January 1971 at Massey Hall in Toronto, Canada  - Young had the brilliance of both the "After The Gold Rush" and "Harvest" albums to draw on. And with a smattering of CSYN and Buffalo Springfield material thrown in for good measure, the effect is pretty much devastating. After each song - the crowd erupts in genuine pleasure.

Then there's the feeling of eavesdropping on a gig that has gone to that magical place of an Artist and Audience engaged in a shared intimacy. When he sings songs that are now part of culture like "Old Man" (lyrics above) and "Heart Of Gold" (beautifully blended into "A Man Needs A Maid") - he is doing so here with a freshness that is thrilling. His vocals are slightly nervous yet beautiful - his ache is real. And he even tries to sell some of the songs to the audience with story-banter in between tunes. Neil Young gets personal - yikes! And as if this isn't enough - someone only went and filmed it - the DVD is gorgeous - concert footage, lyrics and interviews...wow!

A genuinely sensational reissue in the on-going ‘Neil Young Archives' series (NYA) - get this treat into your life as soon as possible...

“Never A Dull Moment” by ROD STEWART (2009 Audio Fidelity 24 KT Gold Audiophile CD Reissue) - A Review by Mark Barry...

"…It Appears To Be Raining Again…You Know I Wouldn’t Tell You No Lie…"

Half way through the second song on this CD "Lost Paraguayos" - I turned it off. I thought to myself maybe it's my CD player, maybe it's me, because the sound on this supposed audiophile CD reissue is incredibly muffled and dull and nothing like what it should be.

Audio Fidelity AFZ 058 is a 24 Karat Gold CD (HDCD encoded) of "Never A Dull Moment" by ROD STEWART issued November 2009 in the USA and is a numbered limited edition of 3000 (33:36 minutes).

AF's releases have had very mixed reviews despite the blurbs all over their gold die-cut card-wrap packaging about "Ultimate Sound Quality", no "compression" and analogue masters being put through "digital converters" etc. It's odd, because I raved about their Joe Walsh CD "The Smoker You Drink, The Player You Get" which is fantastic - so why are some of their issues so underwhelming (Faces, Montrose, Randy Newman jump to mind as well).

I then dug out my "Reason To Believe - The Complete Mercury Studio Recordings" 3CD set from 2002 with its stunning SUHA GUR remasters (has done loads of great work for Hip-O Select on Motown and Verve recordings) - and there's the sound I want - full, lively, every instrument alive - kicking like an audiophile title is supposed to do.

I now find that there's controversy about their recent Simon & Garfunkel CD for "Parsley, Sage, Rosemary And Thyme" too which sounds exactly like the Columbia CD on a few years ago that you can get for a few cents. And to ad insult to injury - Audio Fidelity have even removed the "From The Original Master Tapes" wording from the card sleeve of their new 2010 "Talking Book" reissue by Stevie Wonder! An audiophile reissue company that doesn't want to have the words "original master tapes" on their reissues - how ludicrous can you get.

The packaging too came in for flack, it's a CD single jewel case inside and not an album one - with the original album artwork reproduced in card form - but you can't read anything off it. But that's not what any punter is buying this for - they're looking for the best sound - and for me - it's just not there. The "Reason To Believe" set with 5 full albums, non-album single sides and previously unreleased outtakes and a decent booklet is the winner you want - with genuinely great remastered-sound from an award-winning engineer.

With it's iffy packaging, high price tag and above all suspect sound - I would say that this is a reissue to avoid I'm afraid.

“The Smoker You Drink, The Player You Get” by JOE WALSH (2009 Audio Fidelity 24-Karat Audiophile CD - No'd Ltd Edition - Kevin Gray Remaster) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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"…Oh Yeah! AAGH! AAGH!"

As a war-weary veteran of over 3000 posts/reviews across 8 years of Amazon and Blogger postings - like many music fans purchasing remastered CDs - I grow tired of record companies and their blurbs about 'meticulous transfers' and 'painstaking restoration'...  So it was with a certain amount of gonad-holding trepidation that I approached the latest Audiophile reissue of one of my favourite Joe Walsh albums – his 2^nd studio effort - 1973’s album "The Smoker You Drink, The Player You Get."

But I'm so glad that I bought this because ‘seriously accomplished transfer’ jumps to mind. I'm properly blown away - I really am. But to the voice-box details first...

Original Produced by Joe Walsh and BILL SZYMCZYK - the musicians were:

JOE WALSH - Lead Guitar, Lead Vocals, Keyboard and Synthesiser

JOE VITALE - Drums, Flute, Vocals, Keyboards & Synthesiser

ROCKE GRACE - Keyboards and Vocals

KENNY PASSARELLI - Bass and Vocals

Guests:

JOE LALA - Percussion

CLYDIE KING and VENETTA FIELDS - Backing Vocals

1. Rocky Mountain Way

2. Book Ends

3. Wolf

4. Midnight Moodies

5. Happy Ways

6. Meadows [Side 2]

7. Dreams

8. Days Gone By

9. Daydream (Prayer)

His second solo vinyl album "The Smoker You Drink, The Player You Get." by JOE WALSH was originally released September 1973 in the USA on Dunhill/ABC DSX-50140 and on Probe SPBA 6275 in the UK in October 1973. This US-only 24 KT + Gold CD (HDCD encoded) on Audio Fidelity AFZ 059 (Barcode 780014205928) is a December 2009 straightforward reissue of that Seventies rock classic (36:10 minutes). Engineer and disc-cutter KEVIN GRAY (over 150 credits to his name) has remastered the original first generation tapes using AF's "analogue to digital converter" system. Without any further 'sonic manipulation', the disc is then cut in 'real time' to get the very best sound achievable.

The inlay is placed behind the CD in the card wrap - some people have found that this left it with indentation on other AF releases - all I can say is that it hasn't done so here. Other buyers have also complained about the AF version of The Cars "Heartbeat City" - songs that were segued together on the original LP were clumsily separated with jarring breaks on the CD reissue - again not so here. Rocke Grace's funky flute instrumental "Midnight Moodies" segues into the crystal clear bass opening of "Happy Ways" and while the rock of "Meadows" fades out, the drum and cymbal count of "Dreams" sneaks in so sweetly - there are no gaps - the transition to each is seamless and beautifully handled.

The outer card wrap is numbered on the rear (a limited edition of 3000), the fold-out inlay reproduces the outer and inner gatefold artwork of the original US sleeve (pictures Side 1 and 2 of the Dunhill/ABC labels too), but disappointingly doesn't have any further liner notes nor historical appreciation (this is something AF really should address). But as ever, the real fireworks on a release like this, lies in the sound...

Having been a rabid fan of this album for over 35 years and having parted with a hefty wad of cash to acquire this Audiophile CD, the temptation of course is to 'hear' stuff because you desperately want to. But that's a no-brainer with AFZ 059. The sonic improvement is so absolute and so obvious as to render that argument completely mute. The reproduction is clean, muscular and staggeringly detailed. Every instrument seems to be `there' all of a sudden - especially on the lethal double of Vitale's "Bookends" followed by Walsh's "Wolf" - the synth on the first pounds out of the speakers, while the spacious echo of Walsh's guitar on the second sounds glorious - just huge. 

The album's opener "Rocky Mountain Way" was always going to be a sonic tester for this reissue - and it doesn't disappoint - guitar riffage everywhere - drums and bass so sweetly complimenting - it's astonishingly clean and full of power. "Happy Ways" was written by Kenny Passarelli and Joe Lala's lifelong friend BERNARD "BUDDY" ZOLOTH (of Blues Image fame) and it has Latin-based acoustic guitars that are so Stephen Stills' Manassas - the sonic clarity is simple breathtaking on it. The flanged guitar of "Days Gone By" coupled with the flute and keyboards - again wonderfully vibrant. There's a keyboard flourish about one minute into "Dreams" which literally made me stop in my tracks - gorgeous clarity - then it rocks about 2:18 and I'm blubbering like a fool. The album finishes with the quiet piano of "Daydream (Prayer)" which is perhaps the prettiest song on here - the girly vocals of King and Fields now so beautifully clear.

I own the AF versions of "Montrose" by Montrose and "A Nod Is As Good As A Wink..." by Faces and thought them great in some ways, but slightly underwhelming in others - not so on "Smoker". The words "meticulous transfer" actually do apply here because every single second of every single song screams it. If I met Kevin Gray on the street, I'd shake his hand, pat his kids on the forehead and stick a medal on his chest.

Joe Walsh talks babble at the beginning of "Meadows" and eventually screams "Oh Yeah! AAGH! AAGH!" On thrilling to this fabulous CD reissue, I now know exactly what he means. A stunning job done…

PS: see also my reviews for the Hip-O Select version of his 1972 debut album "Barnstorm" and BOTH the 2004 Japanese Card Repro and the 2009 Japanese SHM CD versions of his 3rd album "So What" from 1974...